By He Yin, People’s Daily
The high-profile Beijing Winter Olympics wrapped up on the evening of Feb. 20 with a closing ceremony held at the National Stadium in Beijing. About 20,000 lanterns were put on the spectator seats during the ceremony, a visual feast for the global audience, just like the opening ceremony of the Games.
During the 16-day event, nearly 3,000 athletes from 91 countries and regions competed under the Olympic flag. They went beyond themselves and jointly created glorious moments with perseverance, friendship and solidarity.
For two-plus weeks, billions of people across the globe shared the joy, heartwarming stories, warmth and hope the Games brought to the world, and gained a better understanding of the Games’ official motto, “Together for s Shared Future”, which is also the name of the main theme song of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach hailed the Beijing Winter Olympics as “truly exceptional” at the closing ceremony.
Against the backdrop of major changes and a global pandemic both unseen in a century, China has kept its promise with a sense of responsibility as a major country to host a “simple, safe and splendid” Winter Olympics as scheduled, promoting global solidarity and inspiring people around the world to walk hand in hand toward a brighter future.
During the closing ceremony, the Olympic rings at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics joined the giant snowflake-shaped cauldron of Beijing 2022 on the stage, which brought back people’s memories for China’s journey of pursuing and achieving its Olympic dreams.
More than 100 years ago, Chinese media raised three well-known questions about the Olympics—“When could China send an athlete to participate in an Olympic Games?” “When could China win an Olympic championship?” and “When could China host an Olympic Games”. Today, Beijing has become the world’s first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
The 2022 Winter Olympics is a mirror of China’s journey from poverty and weakness to prosperity and strength, from isolation to opening-up, and from following to leading the trend of the times.
On the day before the closing ceremony, the IOC awarded the Olympic Cup to the Chinese people in recognition of their support for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
“The Beijing 2022 could not have achieved this level of excellence without the support of the Chinese people,” Bach said.
The Chinese civilization once again joined hands with the Olympic Games to play a charming piece of music about solidarity, peace and friendship among all mankind.
“O Sport, you are Peace!” The quote from Pierre De Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, indicates the original purpose of holding Olympics.
On and off the competition venues for the Beijing Winter Olympics, athletes tried their best to pursue their dreams, cheered for their rivals’ performance, and shook hands with and gave hugs to one another, deepening their friendship with each passing day.
They have shown with their actions that humankind’s dreams are intertwined, people around the world can support each other in pursuing dreams, and that human beings are more powerful when united than separated.
The positive message from the Games will give all mankind the confidence to march forward with courage.
From the official motto “Together for a Shared Future” to the piece of music named “Peace – A Community with a Shared Future” played at the opening ceremony, and from the snowflake-shaped cauldron consisting of smaller snowflakes with the names of participating countries and regions to willow branches that symbolize people’s unwillingness to part from each other in Chinese culture at the closing ceremony, the Beijing Winter Olympics fully showed the world that people from various countries belong to one and the same family and share a common future.
The world now needs a successful Winter Olympics to sent a clear message that people of any country, ethnicity and religion can rise above differences and achieve solidarity and cooperation, pointed out UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The Beijing Winter Olympics has warmed the hearts of people around the world. Its success belongs not only to China, but to the entire world. The Games has demonstrated that peace, unity and progress represent the common pursuit of all people around the world, and that the Chinese dream and the dreams of the rest of the world are closely linked.
Taking the successful Winter Olympics as an opportunity, China will join hands with all parties to continue to write a new chapter of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
